Epilogue
by GrizzBe
Summary: The Wall, and the Soviet Union, has fallen and two parents miss their children.


_So, it's over. It sucks, I know, I've loved the show for six years, and I feel like a part of me has passed with the Jennings family. So, as a coping mechanism, I've written a little epilogue to their story. A happy little vignette that I feel we all deserve. I hope y'all like it!_

1992

Washington, D.C.

Paige sat in her corner of the library, books sprawled across the table, a thick volume of tort law opened next to her notebook. She looked down at her watch, 8:00. She had been there for four hours, and the words were starting to blend together. She leaned back and rubbed the heels of her palms against her eyes. Soft footsteps began approaching her hideaway from behind her.

"Paige," the librarian whispered. "Your brother called, he wanted to know if you were going to make it for Seinfeld tonight."

"Shoot, is it Thursday?" said Paige, matching the librarian's volume. "Thank you, Susan. I'll go call him."

The librarian gave her a warm smile and a squeeze on her shoulder before heading back to her desk at the front. Paige had an idea that Susan didn't go out of her way for most of the other law students, but she had recognized quickly how much of an advantage having the law librarian as a friend would be. She slid a scratch paper into her tort book and closed it before grabbing her purse and heading to the payphone bank.

On her way there, she saw two students that she hadn't seen in the library before and possibly one new professor talking with Susan at the front desk. A new professor or an FBI tail, but almost certainly just a new professor she hadn't met yet. The FBI hadn't been interested in her in four years.

Paige slid a couple quarters into the payphone and dialed the number to Henry's apartment, he picked up on the third ring as she expected him to.

"Hey Henry, I'm-" she started.

"Hold it, Paige, you skipped last week!" said Henry. "It was hilarious and this week's is supposed to be even better!"

"Henry! Calm down!" Paige said, rolling her eyes but smiling all the same. "I was just going to say I'm going to be at the library for at least another 30 minutes. Did you ever find the key I gave you?"

"Oh… No, I haven't found it yet," said Henry.

"Alright, well, just wait for me in the lobby, okay?" said Paige.

"Sounds good," said Henry. "We need to figure out what we're doing next week, by the way."

"Thanksgiving?" asked Paige. Was it already late November? She tried her hardest to keep her nose buried in textbooks at this time of year. Paige could only guess how it affected Henry.

"Yeah," came the voice from the other end. "Stan and Renee are taking a trip to California this year. He says he's tired of 'freezing his balls off over the holidays.'"

The two Jennings siblings shared a good laugh at that. Stan had done a lot for them over the past five years, more than she ever thought they deserved, or maybe just she deserved. There would be no way to ever repay him. They were lucky that Stan wasn't the kind of guy that considered repayment when helping others.

"We'll figure something out," said Paige. "If worst comes to worst, we can just go to that Mediterranean place you like so much. I think they're open on Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, maybe," Henry said. "Anyways, I'll see you in the lobby."

"Alright."

"And don't be late!"

"Alright, alright!" Paige said with a chuckle.

The trip back to her apartment was uneventful, only a handful of possible tails: a couple of late 80's sedans and one older lady in a big jacket, but Paige dismissed them with a closer look. Not too close, though, because that might draw attention. She walked into the lobby to find Henry talking with the doorman.

She wasn't sure how it happened, but Henry looked like he was still growing, even in his senior year at college. One of these days he was going to finally stop, but as it was, he already towered over her. When he saw her, he gave her a smile and said his goodbyes to the doorman as he joined her at the elevator.

"So how's the studying going," asked Henry. "John says you've been coming in late this week, have a test coming up?"

"Just prepping for mock trials," Paige said. "Other than that it's been pretty light. What about you? How did that date go?"

"It went well, I think," said Henry. "I'm not sure, though, it was kind of hard to get a read on her."

The two continued to catch up with each other as they rode the elevator up to Paige's floor and to her apartment. Paige took out her keys but drew up short at the lock. Tell-tale sounds came from beyond the door, pots and flatware being moved around.

"Do you have any friends over," asked Henry, looking as confused as she felt.

"Not that I know of," responded Paige, subconsciously checking to make sure her taser was in her purse.

The two timidly opened the door to see the table set for four, soft, familiar sounds coming from the kitchen. The two quietly walked in to see their mom and dad finishing up preparing a meal. Philip and Elizabeth pulled up and looked at the children they hadn't seen in five years. The four stood there for a moment, almost frozen, no one saying a word.

"Hi guys," said Philip, finally breaking the silence.

"Mom! Dad!" shouted Henry, as he rushed to close the distance, hugging his mother and father. Paige wasn't too far behind, and the four stood there in an embrace so long in the making. Elizabeth was the first to start crying, which shocked Paige into her own tears. Eventually, they all stepped back from each other, Paige and Elizabeth both wiping the eyes.

"We missed you two so much," said Elizabeth through a beaming smile and puffy eyes. Paige couldn't remember the last time she had seen her mother showing such genuine emotions.

"How are you guys here," asked Henry. "I thought you couldn't ever come back?"

"We've been doing this for a long time, Henry," said Philip, his own smile slightly tempered. "Anyways, your mother and I have worked pretty hard here. How about some dinner?"

The family sat down and ate, the whole process being a bit awkward at first. The conversation was stunted, the weight of five years of absence hanging over the dinner table like a pall, until it wasn't. Before long, the smiles beamed, the laughter contagious. And, of course, the questions came, all four of them just as hungry for the empty spaces to be filled in as they were for the chicken parmesan.

"So, Paige, Georgetown Law? That's quite an accomplishment!" said Elizabeth, her smile, once so rare, beaming. "What are you studying?"

"Immigration law," said Paige, a little uneasy with the spot on her, feeling like she was back in high school.

"What made you choose that?" asked Philip.

"I just," she started. "I wanted to help people who wanted to be here. A lot of people give up everything to move to this country and then they want to just turn them around. It's not right."

Philip and Elizabeth didn't say anything to that, just smiled warmly at Paige and squeezed the other's hand before turning their attention to Henry.

"And Henry! George Washington!" Philip almost shouted. "How's rowing going?"

"It's going okay, I wish hockey was more than a club sport, but I can do both," said Henry. "But what about you guys? How's life back in Mother Russia?"

The parents exchanged a look at that and a small laugh before Elizabeth spoke, "It's alright, we miss you two terribly, but it could be worse, all things considered. To be honest, Henry, you're taking it better than we thought you would."

Henry shrugged, "I've had five years to digest it, what can I say? Stan gave me the basics, and Paige filled everything in after that."

"You have to understand, Henry," said Philip. "We did what we thought was best for you."

"Dad, I know," Henry insisted. "I mean, it took me a year or two, but I get it. How'd you guys even get into the country? Stan doesn't like to talk about it, but he made it pretty clear that you were Persona Non-Grata."

"We've been doing this for a while, Henry," said Elizabeth. "And the less you two know about the specifics is probably, the better."

Henry and Paige both rolled their eyes at their mother's sidestep.

"So, what are you guys doing these days?" asked Paige.

"Well, we're mostly instructors these days," said Elizabeth.

"Spy instructors?" asked Henry.

"I wouldn't exactly call it that," said Philip, shaking his head as if weighing the words.

"We instruct the police, these days," followed Elizabeth.

Only a little lie, Paige picked up. She had absorbed her mother's lessons better than even she had realized.

"We've missed you guys so much," said Philip. "Your mother cried for a week when we got your photos, Paige."

Even now, Elizabeth's eyes were looking a little red, Philip squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"What? No way!" said Henry. "Mom, cry? And when did you send them pictures, Paige?"

"Back in February," said Paige. "It wasn't really easy finding your address. I had to go to the embassy and they only really listened to me when I explained our… situation to them. I thought Stan was going to interrogate me for a week after that."

"Thank you, again, you have no idea how much it meant to us," said Philip, Elizabeth actively holding back tears at that point.

"So you're instructors," said Paige. "What else do you guys do?"

"Well, I cook a little," said Philip. "And your mother paints! She's actually pretty good!"

Philip beamed as he turned to his wife, who just chuckled at the shocked looks on her children's faces.

"Alright! Alright!" said Elizabeth. "My painting isn't that hard to believe!"

"It's just, painting is a," Paige tried to find the word. "Gentle pursuit, mom."

"And we all know you're the hard-ass, mom," said Henry barely containing a laugh.

"You guys wouldn't believe how good she's gotten," said Philip, obviously enjoying himself at the turn the conversation had taken. "Her first few though."

Philip stuck out his tongue and looked off to the side, earning himself a friendly elbow in the ribs from Elizabeth.

"Well, now I've heard everything," said Henry. "So, how long are you guys staying?"

"Oh, I'd say we have a little more than a week before the office starts wondering where we went," said Philip.

"More than a week," asked Paige. "So you're staying for Thanksgiving?"

Philip and Elizabeth looked at each other for a moment and smiled as they turned back to their kids.

"Yeah," said Elizabeth. "I think we can manage that."


End file.
